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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.0
"Time does not move forward. It circles, spirals, pivots, and repeats. Echoes of another's memories live within us, impelling us around and around, ensuring that the story closes itself, that the pattern resounds, that the picture from up high is a shape infinitely repeating."
REVIEW
[Family sagas can go both ways for me, but I couldn't help but adding The Bullet Swallower after reading the blurb. Western meets magical realism; such an intriguing combination! I've seen this story being compared to Gabriel Garcia Marquez... A dangerous comparison, but I think in this case it's justified as it does have that same lyrical prose and magical feel about it all. The magical realism itself isn't too overpowering though, and instead The Bullet Swallower is mainly a mix of a family saga spanning generations, a proper western including your bandit anti-hero and a story about revenge and redemption. The story uses a dual timeline structure, switching between 1895 featuring Antonio Sonoro (El Tragabalas) and 1964 with his grandson Jaime Sonoro. Dual timelines can also go both ways for me, and I did prefer Antonio's POV as it was simply more riveting, but I liked how the two completemented each other. The switches between the timelines were a bit abrupt at times and the pace itself was slower than expected, but as a whole there is no doubt that the story was still able to keep me under its spell until the very end. The writing itself was beautiful, and one to be savoured instead of rushed through in order to fully appreciate it. I know this isn't my usual read, but I'm so glad I gave The Bullet Swallower a chance!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
blair_w's review against another edition
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
nehaanna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Alcohol